It’s official: Rossi will take on Murray

Rossi, as expected, on Wednesday morning announced his challenge to Sen. Patty Murray on his website. Supporters had been told to check the site at 7 a.m. But perhaps fittingly for a candidate who kept Washinton waiting for months while he made a decision, the announcement didn’t appear until about 7:16 a.m. Visitors to the site before then saw an old request for investors for Rossi’s real estate ventures.

Rossi, twice an unsuccessful GOP candidate for governor, is looking to capitalize on an anti-incumbent, populist mood that seems to be growing in the country.

“Are you angry about the trillion dollar budget deficits, the wasteful stimulus packages and the bailouts for Wall Street?” Rossi asked. “Do you believe America’s best days are ahead of us?…That’s why I made my decision to run for United States Senate.”

If elected, he vowed to replace the “Pelosi-Reid health care bill with something that will actually reduce cost and increase access.”

Murray is seeking her fourth term in the U.S. Senate. Murray’s seniority has made her arguably the most powerful politician in Washington state. She heads a key transportation subcommittee and has used her position to steer hundreds of millions of federal dollars back to the Evergreen State. But recent polling has showed she may be vulnerable.

Rossi was a state senator who chaired the upper chamber’s budget panel. He also has had a long career in residential and commercial real estate, something Democrats have been trying to use against him in the weeks-long run up to Wednesday’s announcement.

Rossi’s long road to making his run official has also angered some within Washington’s Republican ranks. Eastern Washington farmer and former pro football player Clint Didier and GOP state Sen. Don Benton, both candidates for the office Rossi seeks, have criticized him. And conservative superstar Sarah Palin has endorsed Didier, who is hoping support from the “Tea Party” anti-tax movement will swell behind him.

But after two statewide runs for office, Rossi has tremendous name recognition. There are also many who feel he was wronged in the disputed 2004 election, in which he won first two vote counts but lost to Gov. Chris Gregoire by just 129 votes in the final recount. And Washington’s “top two” August primary will also help him out. There aren’t partisan primaries here – the top two vote getters, regardless of party, advance to the November ballot.

Rossi will have to work hard to get in the same fundraising ballpark as his Democratic rival. Murray has about $6 million cash on hand, according to the website opensecrets.org. By way of comparison, Didier and Benton combined have less than $300,000, the website says.

And Democrats wasted no time attacking him.

“Dino Rossi was hand-picked by the national Republican establishment, and they pushed him into this race after a series of back room deals in Washington DC,” Dwight Pelz, chairman of the state Democrats, said in a statement. “We must presume that Rossi promised national Republicans his full support for their special interest agenda, but what does Dino Rossi have to offer the people of Washington? The answer is not much.”

After months of positioning, the Murray v. Rossi match is on. And with Republicans hoping to possibly flip the Senate in their favor, politicos across the country will be watching.